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Louth’s hidden food bargains
The delightful Lincolnshire market town has all
sort of bargains for the shopper who knows
where to look.
With so many small independent shops, tucked
away lanes and ‘snickets’ as they are called in
Lincolnshire, it is often easy to miss some of
the many fascinating food products, from
traditional to luxury, and from the familiar to
the extraordinary that are on offer in Louth.
If you know where to look, there are tremendous
bargains available, which should certainly
appeal to those on a tight budget as well as
those who want to do a bit of exploring. Here
Nick Louth describes, in no particular order,
just a few of the overlooked retailers and
value products that are available in the town.
Town Market (hours
8am-3pm Wed, Fri and Sat at the Cornmarket):
Shop at 2-3pm any day, and get bananas 3lbs for
£1 (sometimes 4lbs!) – two for one deals on
strawberries, raspberries and other fruit that
is often otherwise pricey. Cheap tomatoes,
cabbages, carrots etc. Pineapples also 2 for 1.
Louth Farmer’s Market
(4th Friday and 2nd
Wednesday of each month). A large range of
specialist meat, bread, cake and other suppliers
all with plenty of samples on offer. ,
Value for Money
New Market Hall, off New Street. A bargain shop
that hardly anyone is aware of! Cheap tins,
spices, herbs, sauces. Probably the best place
to get all your basics to start a kitchen. My
recent bargain hauls have included Duchy
Original individual Christmas puddings, 50p for
two, and Marmite cereal bars, 50p for two boxes
of six.
McLeod’s, Bridge St:
A beautiful deli, with everything you could
possibly imagine. Particularly good value for
herbs and spices which are often sold by weight.
Lakings, 33 Eastgate:
Steak mince £2/lb, shin beef £2.20 (full
flavoured for slow cooking and much less fat
than stewing beef) – which is v. cheap. Scotch
eggs (really nice) 80p.
Pocklington’s Bakery,
2 Market Place. Award-winning business which
bakes locally. Mixed grain loaves are truly
delicious, and the premium ham at just 100p/100
grams, is a great bargain. Good coffee here too
, knocks spots off Subway for price and quality.
The Farm Shop, New Street:
An amazing eclectic collection of rare meats
(gnu, kangaroo and ostrich) sausages, venison
and so on. A recent bargain discovery was a
£2.99 smoked pork hock. A slow pot roast (3 hrs)
making a gourmet feast for half a dozen –
incredibly cheap!
Jacksons, 118 Eastgate:
Cooked balti chicken thighs 35p (A lunch that’s
cheaper than a bag of crisps!), individual
pizzas £1, Savoury duck (the best in town) 65p
and ideal as a meat base for pasta or lasagne.
Igloo, 17 New Street:
Fish pie mix £3 of real whole fish, fishcakes
95p, sardines & whitebait also cheap.
St Peter’s Fish,
New Market Hall. Good value shellfish, and just
occasionally, whole oak smoked salmon
Robinson’s, 125 Eastgate:
Good current offers in grapefruit and
cauliflower. Always a good selection of potato
varieties, parsnips, old tomatoes (bagged in
‘pet food’ section, but at 35p perfect for
making fresh pasta sauces), cheap blueberries.
Royston’s Deli,
20 Queen Street. Home-made cakes, paté,
olive mixes and charcuterie. Wonderful!
H.W. Stevenson,
83 Eastgate: Equally good greengrocer, with
beautifully laid-out store. Try the late season
raspberries and the wonderful local samphire in
July.
Dales, Eastgate:
Pheasant pieces £2.99 lb in season – but goes
twice as far as chicken. Rabbit £2, perhaps only
for the adventurous, but the cheapest possible
meat stew. Lakings do vacuum sealed hare in
season, which is even better value (same price,
but bigger animal) but quite gory (which means
the gravy is fab)
Fairburn’s, 29-31 Mercer Row:
Chicken pies (£2.80) but packed with meat, and
delicious. This butcher employs the Guinness
book of record sausage maker Chris Fenwick. Try
his Victorian sausages – amazing!
Whole Food Co-op, 7-9
Eastgate: Lentils, jumbo oats – useful for
toppings as well as porridge. Non-sulphured
dried apricots. Dried beans.
Bargain Buys, Mercer
Row (old Woolworths) tins of pulses for 35p, v.
cheap pasta (50p per packet).
(If
you have a favourite bargain from Louth’s
independent food shops, e-mail us at
info@keeplouthspecial.org.uk)
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